A content purge is coming soon to Disney+ and Hulu.
Disney will soon begin removing shows and movies from the streaming services to cut costs, Vulture reports. The titles set to be pulled from Disney+ include "Willow," the original streaming series starring Warwick Davis that debuted in November 2022, as well as the documentary series "The World According To Jeff Goldblum," the film "The One and Only Ivan," and more. "The Premise" and "Y: The Last Man" are among the shows being removed from Hulu.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy recently said that the company is reviewing its streaming content to "align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation" and will be "removing certain content" as a result. This will allow Disney to "write off nearly $2 billion from its bottom line," The Hollywood Reporter notes, and the move comes as Disney CEO Bob Iger says he's putting the company on a path toward making its streaming business profitable.
Disney is just the latest company to remove content from streaming to save money. Warner Bros. Discovery started doing the same last year by pulling numerous shows from HBO Max, including "Westworld," and the company also famously shelved the movie "Batgirl" for a tax write-off. It's possible the content being removed from Disney+ will find a new home, though. "Westworld," for example, began streaming on Roku after being pulled from HBO Max.
But director Julia Hart tweeted that she's "devastated" her Disney+ movie "Stargirl" is being pulled, while John Bickerstaff, a writer who worked on "Willow," tweeted, "They gave us six months. Not even. This business has become absolutely cruel." Fans also bemoaned the fact that "Howard," a documentary about "The Little Mermaid" songwriter Howard Ashman, is one of the titles being removed from Disney+ given the live-action "Little Mermaid" remake is about to hit theaters.